‘Paedophile hunter’ explains his methods of posing as a child in ‘sting’ operations

A “paedophile hunter” told me how he snares perverts who prey on children online…

Summary

There is a dark side to self-styled ‘paedophile hunter’ Michael McCheyne that not many know of. On the surface, it seems he lives a happy and normal life. However, a history of abuse means he feels obliged to protect children from sexual predators online.

How I got my story

I was reading through a website of a local paper back home where I grew up in Lake District. I noticed a report about a man who had been jailed after being snared by a ‘paedophile hunter’. I saw that he was from Burton upon Trent. I was working for the Burton Mail at the time and immediately took to Facebook to track him down. I eventually found him and sent him a message. It took a lot of persuading to convince him to run a feature with us. I also had to ask him to sign a waiver as he was a victim of assault. The interview was lengthy and complex. It required several revisions and multiple calls with Mr McCheyne. I also made a valuable contact who we got many more stories from in the future.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/paedophile-hunter-burton-sting-operations-1541651

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